Preview — Union Street
by Pat Barker

Union Street

Vivid, bawdy and bitter' (The Times), Pat Barker's first novel shows the women of Union Street, young and old, meeting the harsh challeges of poverty and survival in a precarious world. There's Kelly, at eleven, neglected and independent, dealing with a squalid rape; Dinah, knocking on sixty and still on the game; Joanne, not yet twenty, not yet married, and alreadyVivid, bawdy and bitter' (The Times), Pat Barker's first novel shows the women of Union Street, young and old, meeting the harsh challeges of poverty and survival in a precarious world. There's Kelly, at eleven, neglected and independent, dealing with a squalid rape; Dinah, knocking on sixty and still on the game; Joanne, not yet twenty, not yet married, and already pregnant; Old Alice, welcoming her impending death; Muriel helplessly watching the decline of her stoical husband. And linking them all, watching over them all, mother to half the street, is fiery, indomitable Iris....more

Community Reviews

Union Street is absolute gold. Wikipedia says that Pat Barker shopped this novel around to publishers for 10 years and was rejected by all until she finally sent it to Virago Press who knew the value of an honest book about women. I think the other publishers rejected it because the women and girls in these inter connected stories don't act the way publishers assume we want them to act. A case in point is Iris, who I guess is the character on whom the movie Stanley and Iris is based, but very loUnion Street is absolute gold. Wikipedia says that Pat Barker shopped this novel around to publishers for 10 years and was rejected by all until she finally sent it to Virago Press who knew the value of an honest book about women. I think the other publishers rejected it because the women and girls in these inter connected stories don't act the way publishers assume we want them to act. A case in point is Iris, who I guess is the character on whom the movie Stanley and Iris is based, but very loosely. This is one tough cookie. She has a couple of the most quotable lines in the book. First comes this one when she finds she can earn her own money instead of relying on her pig of a husband But that first pay packet, it was wonderful. They needn't starve, now. Whatever Ted did there would be some money in the house. 'You think on it,' she'd said to her two older girls when they got married. 'It's nice to have a good husband but it's a hell of a lot nicer to have your own money. A fiver you've earned is worth ten of anybody else's. You can do what you want with it."and regarding her habit of helping those in needAll this was meat and drink to her. She loved life. She loved to feel life bubbling and quickening all around her, and took it for granted that life included old age, suffering and death. Lest that make her sound like the Jane Fonda Iris character, I assure you she's not. She has a strong violent side. In fact Iris; Kelly Brown, the young girl who starts the book; and Blonde Dinah, the old prostitute and Alice Bell who provides the perfect ending are probably the reason publishers didn't want to take a chance on these harsh, surprising and realistic stories. Mothers don't always mother in the way Norman Rockwell says they should, children don't always appreciate them, husbands can be cruel, caring men can be discarded, life is not a bed of roses on Union Street. ...more

This was like Dubliners, if Dubliners was written in the 1980s about English women living in poverty in the 1970s, and it didn't suck.

Ahaha, Joyce fans, shoot me now. But there's no love lost between me and James Joyce.

Moving on... it was very interesting structurally. The writing was peppered with some colloquial syntax/diction, but not so much that it overpowered the story - it wasn't like trying to read Trainspotting (which I had to read out loud to myself). But the structure - it told the sThis was like Dubliners, if Dubliners was written in the 1980s about English women living in poverty in the 1970s, and it didn't suck.

Ahaha, Joyce fans, shoot me now. But there's no love lost between me and James Joyce.

Moving on... it was very interesting structurally. The writing was peppered with some colloquial syntax/diction, but not so much that it overpowered the story - it wasn't like trying to read Trainspotting (which I had to read out loud to myself). But the structure - it told the stories of seven different women who all lived on Union Street, and went in order from youngest to oldest, sort of tying the stories together as the characters ran into each other in minor situations (in the supermarket, finding something on the street another character had left behind, etc.). But what really links them is the way their stories blend, almost seamlessly, in the squalor of everyday poverty and in the downtrodden, desperate roles that are the only life available to the women. Their choices don't matter because really, they don't have any choices - they are inevitably going to end up pregnant, forced to marry the father, abused, poor, and they'll eventually die. The end, that's all, go kill yourself now. See why it reminds me of Dubliners?

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.I had a hard time deciding between three and four stars on this, but ended up settling for the latter. Why? Well, this is an extremely captivating and genuine-feeling book about the struggles of seven very different working-class women. Even though their background is very different from the place I come from, I could empathize with their feelings very well and bring up sympathy even for the most "difficult" character. At times it was hard to read though, not even for the subject matter (which II had a hard time deciding between three and four stars on this, but ended up settling for the latter. Why? Well, this is an extremely captivating and genuine-feeling book about the struggles of seven very different working-class women. Even though their background is very different from the place I come from, I could empathize with their feelings very well and bring up sympathy even for the most "difficult" character. At times it was hard to read though, not even for the subject matter (which I knew about going in) but for the many mentions of bodily fluids, wounds and a very questionable abortion happening in a kitchen. However, these were elements of things happening that have to be talked about, despite not being "pleasurable" enough for people from a privileged background. All in all, this book is a really great read and makes you think; it raises awareness that even today and in the "Western World", there are people who got the very short end of the stick and that they still are trying to make the best of what they have....more

Excellent book. The story is about a half a dozen women living in the same street. All are at a different stage in their lives & consequently their problems are different. From the young teenager who is raped, to the old lady who is very sick & expects to die soon. Pat Barker seems to get inside the minds of all of her heroines & has an easy stile that is very readable.

Although best known for her wonderful 'Regeneration' trilogy and 'Life Class' novels, 'Union St' is her first. Published in 1982, it tells the stories of 7 women living interlinked lives in industrial Union St. These vividly characterised working class women have little beauty or joy in their lives, but they survive all the ugliness of poverty, loveless sex and illness, without a shred of self-pity and Barker, thankfully, never sentimentalises. Difficult to choose the most impressive; probablyAlthough best known for her wonderful 'Regeneration' trilogy and 'Life Class' novels, 'Union St' is her first. Published in 1982, it tells the stories of 7 women living interlinked lives in industrial Union St. These vividly characterised working class women have little beauty or joy in their lives, but they survive all the ugliness of poverty, loveless sex and illness, without a shred of self-pity and Barker, thankfully, never sentimentalises. Difficult to choose the most impressive; probably Iris, mother to them all. In places, visceral and vile; hence 4 not 5 stars. ...more

I wasn't expecting this book. Written in 1982 it is perhaps one of the most modern of the Virago modern classics, and completely different in tone and in subject from the rest.

This book is about the residents of Union Street. Seven interlinked stories about seven residents of the working class street located near a cake factory, a railway, an engineering works and a river. I can't say when the book is set, but nowhere is there mention of a television, or radio. No-one owns a car, and baths are mI wasn't expecting this book. Written in 1982 it is perhaps one of the most modern of the Virago modern classics, and completely different in tone and in subject from the rest.

This book is about the residents of Union Street. Seven interlinked stories about seven residents of the working class street located near a cake factory, a railway, an engineering works and a river. I can't say when the book is set, but nowhere is there mention of a television, or radio. No-one owns a car, and baths are made out of tin and set before the fire. The whole lot of them appear to survive on fish and chips.

The stories are fresh, the characters distinct and their stories individual, but I was pleased to close the book in the end, and to get away from that dirty noisy street, from the sense that women had little choice in the lives they lives, that they had to put up with beatings and deprivation to ensure that their kids were fed.

Barker is in my estimation a fine writer, and I would be pleased to read another novel of hers. ...more

One of my all time favourites read and re-read. Very gritty and extremely atmospheric, it stays in the mind a long time. The themes are very adult and the depiction of hard, working class characters in a deprived industrial area leaves nothing to the imagination. Elements of the story are very disturbing but addressed in a way as to be thought evoking. The 'Union Street' of the title may be the North East (Teesside I guess, around 1972) but this is no Catherine Cookson. I understand this is PatOne of my all time favourites read and re-read. Very gritty and extremely atmospheric, it stays in the mind a long time. The themes are very adult and the depiction of hard, working class characters in a deprived industrial area leaves nothing to the imagination. Elements of the story are very disturbing but addressed in a way as to be thought evoking. The 'Union Street' of the title may be the North East (Teesside I guess, around 1972) but this is no Catherine Cookson. I understand this is Pat Barker's first book and I see this as a benchmark for the rest of them. As with all of Barker's novels, the content is graphic and the language sometimes strong. This does not offend because the reader is given a true sense of realism; it isn't gratuitous.Union Street is brilliantly written and excellently put together. Each chapter focuses the story of a particular female character and each part is interlinked. A very clever, memorable book. ...more

A bleak but moving book. Pat Barker's first novel explores the lives and struggles of a group of women in the same ordinary street. Each chapter tells the story of one woman, and these stories are loosely linked.

This was one of the toughest books I've ever read. Actually I didn't finish it, I found it too depressing. I come from the North East and am old enough to just about recognise the general street scene portrayed but I would have had only glimpses of the lives of working class women of the era. Looking at it with political spectacles on, while I'm not doubting that there are women with lives like that nowadays, it felt like a bygone era and I felt like a voyeur. In contrast, in the same week IThis was one of the toughest books I've ever read. Actually I didn't finish it, I found it too depressing. I come from the North East and am old enough to just about recognise the general street scene portrayed but I would have had only glimpses of the lives of working class women of the era. Looking at it with political spectacles on, while I'm not doubting that there are women with lives like that nowadays, it felt like a bygone era and I felt like a voyeur. In contrast, in the same week I read it I saw "I, Daniel Blake" at the cinema. The film portrayed similar lives in the same North East setting a few decades on. It was inspiring. Suggest see the film rather than read the book....more

I read The Regeneration Trilogy some years ago and loved it. When I realised Union Street was Pat Barker's first book, I had to read it. So different! At first, I thought she was writing about the 30's but it seems some were living that kind of life in the 70's!It isn't a book about heroic women. It's about real women warts and all and all the more moving for it. The book could have been disjointed. I personally don't like books that devote chapters to different characters but this flowed beautiI read The Regeneration Trilogy some years ago and loved it. When I realised Union Street was Pat Barker's first book, I had to read it. So different! At first, I thought she was writing about the 30's but it seems some were living that kind of life in the 70's!It isn't a book about heroic women. It's about real women warts and all and all the more moving for it. The book could have been disjointed. I personally don't like books that devote chapters to different characters but this flowed beautifully. The women were real. I felt anger, pity, frustration but never lost interest in their lives. The test of a good writer. I was engaged throughout....more

Another university read. I liked the concept of the book. Different (in age as well) women telling their view while living together on the same street. Although the first story really isn't easy to get and to read, the book gets the grip of telling a story.

Who wants to read a book about working class women and girls who live in squalor in the back avenues of an industrial city north east of London?

Well, I do.

See, my hand is raised?

Still I’m not everybody.

Hollywood couldn’t handle what Barker was trying to convey in the pages of this book because in 1990 they released it as a sweet romance story called Stanley & Iris, starring Jane Fonda and Robert De Niro. In the film Fonda and De Niro play two working class individuals who are at a standsWho wants to read a book about working class women and girls who live in squalor in the back avenues of an industrial city north east of London?

Well, I do.

See, my hand is raised?

Still I’m not everybody.

Hollywood couldn’t handle what Barker was trying to convey in the pages of this book because in 1990 they released it as a sweet romance story called Stanley & Iris, starring Jane Fonda and Robert De Niro. In the film Fonda and De Niro play two working class individuals who are at a standstill in their lives, with Fonda’s character later on teaching De Niro’s how to read and write, the two of them falling in love during the process. I admit, it’s an excellent film, and one of my favorite romance stories, Fonda is fun to watch and De Niro pulls out one of his best performances in it --- but the film isn’t Baker’s Union Street. Fonda’s Iris King, the cake factory, a pregnant teen, and a man who can’t read are the only elements that have any sort of association to this book, and these elements are still sprinkled with sugar crystals on it.

Book publishers couldn’t handle what realism Barker had written as she had a difficult time trying to find a publisher for the book. Nobody wanted to give Union Street the time of day because it isn’t a pretty book. It isn’t a book that goes down easy. It’s a book about worn-out, hard-working women and young girls, but it’s not in the Norma Rae-rah-rah spirit, or wraps itself in warm camaraderie like Women of Brewster Place. Baker wrote a book that is a stark and unsettling contrast to the usual working class woman narrative.

Barker is definitely a realist. Within in the pages of Union Street she offers zero solutions. Life is as it is and it will screw you over, time and time again, the end. No room to breathe, no room to dream. Seven inter-locking vignettes of claustrophobic hopelessness is how Union Street is mapped out, with each character from the young to old attempting to either break away or face their abysmal fates.

The images that unfold are raw. Women are raped. Women are beaten. Women make the hard choices when the men around them are drunk and directionless. Women give themselves over to men so food can be put on the table. Women are dying. Women are living in filth. You can feel the grime, smell the stench, understand the dejection. Sometimes things are too real, too harrowing, you want to look away, but can’t. The only sliver of hope these women have is their persistence to hope that one day it will change and live life on their own terms, not paycheck to paycheck and by the rigid class system there are barred in.

Barker is an exceptional writer. She’s not patronizing in her prose as these characters come into focus, and she writes them not really as victims, but as survivors, and in some flickers of familiarity you might find yourself or someone you know in these characters.

Union Street is bleak and depressing, and you’ll need to knock back a drink and read a sugary and spongy bite of pastel colored chick-lit to get the taste out of your mouth when you’re close the last chapter. Still this shouldn’t dissuade one away from reading it. I personally found this a compelling read and far from being the type of ‘misery porn’ that gets produced these days in contemporary literature just so the author can appear ‘deep’ or ‘aware of their privilege’. Union Street is authentic, it wears its reality tattered and dingy, but is all the way sincere.

So read this and play lots of Adele or The Smiths in the background when you read this book for a one-two punch of British-esque despondency....more

This book tells the story of a street and the women who live on it, in a northern English town in the 1980s. Barker constructs a network of relationships between and within the households on Union Street, with each woman dealing with her own difficulties and hardships behind closed doors. More than anything this is a book about the life-stages of the female body - from the first period or childbirth to the marriage bed and later, the injustice of ageing. In each chapter she manages to narrate anThis book tells the story of a street and the women who live on it, in a northern English town in the 1980s. Barker constructs a network of relationships between and within the households on Union Street, with each woman dealing with her own difficulties and hardships behind closed doors. More than anything this is a book about the life-stages of the female body - from the first period or childbirth to the marriage bed and later, the injustice of ageing. In each chapter she manages to narrate an important event in the inhabitants' lives, whilst filling in their back-story and quickly building up a sense of character - each family's hopes and fears. The chapters stand alone but also feed into one another, as one person's crisis reflects on another's, and the women are always more than just daughters, wives and mothers. Whilst the books I've read so far by Barker - the Regeneration trilogy and Lifeclass - focused on men's stories, in Union Street Barker applies her sharp, empathetic prose to the daily struggle & beauty of women's lives....more

this was pat barker's first novel and it shows that her writing talent has always been consistent! she conjures up union street through the cleverly interweaving stories of 7 women who live there, each one stands alone as an excellent short story in its own right and they provide a chronology of womanhood, starting with 11 yr old Kelly and going through first pregnancy, third birth, marital problems, issues of sex and money including poverty, rape, prostitution and abortion, until the elderlythis was pat barker's first novel and it shows that her writing talent has always been consistent! she conjures up union street through the cleverly interweaving stories of 7 women who live there, each one stands alone as an excellent short story in its own right and they provide a chronology of womanhood, starting with 11 yr old Kelly and going through first pregnancy, third birth, marital problems, issues of sex and money including poverty, rape, prostitution and abortion, until the elderly Alice meets young Kelly at the end - their various voices richly invoke life in a grim northern town in the 1970s with gritty realism - with mining strikes and unemployment the men in their lives are portrayed sympathetically depsite beatings and heartache - at times these stories moved me to tears, and there were many smiles too, and yes, this is a good book for any woman to read, but I think men should give try it too and learn a lot about the joys and pains of being female

This is a fantastic book: gritty but sensitive, alarming but also oddly familiar. Organised into seven chapters, each of which deals with a snapshot of the life of a different woman who lives in Union Street (set in the Industrial North East), Pat Barker's book gives a detailed, poignant account of each their struggles. Generally it is quite a depressing read, and some of the scenes describing sexual or physical violence, though brief, can be harrowing: however I could not put this book down asThis is a fantastic book: gritty but sensitive, alarming but also oddly familiar. Organised into seven chapters, each of which deals with a snapshot of the life of a different woman who lives in Union Street (set in the Industrial North East), Pat Barker's book gives a detailed, poignant account of each their struggles. Generally it is quite a depressing read, and some of the scenes describing sexual or physical violence, though brief, can be harrowing: however I could not put this book down as it was so skilfully written and fascinating. The book also provides a snapshot of female working class life in the late twentieth century, which accounts for why this book was so important for its time....more

Recommends it for: If you like Vera Drake movie or are interested in realities of life in C20th industrial England.

I first discovered the works of Pat Barker when reading her Regeneration trilogy which dealt with the difficulties of troops in WW1 suffering from the then unknown problem of shell-shock.This book is set sometime in the 1950s/60s (I think, it may even be the early 70's) and deals with the harsh realities of surviving in a grim industrial city in the North East of England. It focuses mostly on the women and how they survive and function, keeping both themselves and their families going through onI first discovered the works of Pat Barker when reading her Regeneration trilogy which dealt with the difficulties of troops in WW1 suffering from the then unknown problem of shell-shock.This book is set sometime in the 1950s/60s (I think, it may even be the early 70's) and deals with the harsh realities of surviving in a grim industrial city in the North East of England. It focuses mostly on the women and how they survive and function, keeping both themselves and their families going through one tough day to the next one.Although fiction it certainly reminded me of some of my early childhood days and the tough, no nonsense, matriarchal society that was the norm then.Chick-lit with balls of steel....more

I picked this up on a whim I was looking for something to fill the gap left by 'Call the Midwife.' What you have here is a story about love, poverty and misfortune that does sit with you even after you have put it down. There are women and young girls in the stories that you just think what are you doing but then it was all a different time and peoples attitudes where so different. It is very much of its time and as a debut novel was really well written, the characters, setting and accents whereI picked this up on a whim I was looking for something to fill the gap left by 'Call the Midwife.' What you have here is a story about love, poverty and misfortune that does sit with you even after you have put it down. There are women and young girls in the stories that you just think what are you doing but then it was all a different time and peoples attitudes where so different. It is very much of its time and as a debut novel was really well written, the characters, setting and accents where spot on. My only criticism is that I would have liked to know what happened to the characters after their story was done. Where did they go, what happened, did they find happiness? Ect... Maybe I'm just a big softy for happy endings that you rarely get in these tales....more

The style of this book reminded me very much of Maeve Binchy - individual chapters dealing with separate but interwoven characters all living on Union Street. But it is Maeve Binchy with a real edge. Fantastic writing, a great piece of its time - the mid 1970s - dealing with a generation of women who stayed with their husbands for the sake of the children, barely tolerated sex and accepted the occasional beating. Their daughters are more savvy (or so we are led to believe). I had only read theThe style of this book reminded me very much of Maeve Binchy - individual chapters dealing with separate but interwoven characters all living on Union Street. But it is Maeve Binchy with a real edge. Fantastic writing, a great piece of its time - the mid 1970s - dealing with a generation of women who stayed with their husbands for the sake of the children, barely tolerated sex and accepted the occasional beating. Their daughters are more savvy (or so we are led to believe). I had only read the Regeneration Trilogy before. This is a great book and well worth reading. I will look out for the rest of Pat Barker's work. ...more

Trying to think of better adjectives than meh but none really come to mind. Between 2 and 3 stars but being stingy because I did find it a bit crass. On one hand I did enjoy the insight into another world - of impoverished 60s England - and the mix of characters presented, but I also want exactly gripped, and I didn't like how you couldn't get to know the characters due to the shifting viewpoint... Mind you, I'd have gotten fed up with the voices of most of the characters so I can't be tooTrying to think of better adjectives than meh but none really come to mind. Between 2 and 3 stars but being stingy because I did find it a bit crass. On one hand I did enjoy the insight into another world - of impoverished 60s England - and the mix of characters presented, but I also want exactly gripped, and I didn't like how you couldn't get to know the characters due to the shifting viewpoint... Mind you, I'd have gotten fed up with the voices of most of the characters so I can't be too sniffy about that. Worth a go if you enjoy 'real-life' books/ are interested in 20th century history....more

In a way this is almost as bleak as Regeneration in that it seems to cover a lot of grim areas of the characters' lives. There's something about the way that she describes things that stops it from seeming manipulative or drifting too much into despair though so it ends up being less heavy to read than I expected from the first couple of chapters. It's also pretty impressive how much of an image of the characters you get from these small snippets of their lives. That did make me wish this bookIn a way this is almost as bleak as Regeneration in that it seems to cover a lot of grim areas of the characters' lives. There's something about the way that she describes things that stops it from seeming manipulative or drifting too much into despair though so it ends up being less heavy to read than I expected from the first couple of chapters. It's also pretty impressive how much of an image of the characters you get from these small snippets of their lives. That did make me wish this book was longer though as I want to know what happened to everyone....more

I first read Pat Barker's Regeneration Trilogy, the third book, The Ghost Road, won the Mann Booker Prize. Her descriptions of war should be required reading at the military academies, and for the populous at large. Union Street is her first novel and it is magnificent. It is the story of working class women living on a particular street in industrial England in the 70s. The circumstances and the dialog capture the pain of being just above the lowest of the low. The novel is dark but does offerI first read Pat Barker's Regeneration Trilogy, the third book, The Ghost Road, won the Mann Booker Prize. Her descriptions of war should be required reading at the military academies, and for the populous at large. Union Street is her first novel and it is magnificent. It is the story of working class women living on a particular street in industrial England in the 70s. The circumstances and the dialog capture the pain of being just above the lowest of the low. The novel is dark but does offer an occasional falsh of light....more

Riveted all the way through, with searing images and insights, like this one: "Her home. They were taking it away from her. The dirt and disorder, the signs of malnutrition and neglect which to them were reasons for putting her away were, to her, independence. She had fought to keep for herself the conditions of a human life. She was calm again. What she wanted was simple. She wanted to die with dignity. She wanted to die in her own home..."

Sure puts me in mind of Toni Morrison's The Bluest EyeRiveted all the way through, with searing images and insights, like this one: "Her home. They were taking it away from her. The dirt and disorder, the signs of malnutrition and neglect which to them were reasons for putting her away were, to her, independence. She had fought to keep for herself the conditions of a human life. She was calm again. What she wanted was simple. She wanted to die with dignity. She wanted to die in her own home..."

Sure puts me in mind of Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye. I'm off to find out which book was written first. ...more

i first read this collection of short stories in high school and i've been obsessed with them ever since. found a used copy in a secondhand bookstore on charing cross road. came home practically bouncing up and down. it was just as i remembered - incredible, beautifully written stories about hard women in hard circumstances. the first story is just gorgeous. pat barker is an amazing writer. and it's astounding to read these stories after living in england and really learning the differencei first read this collection of short stories in high school and i've been obsessed with them ever since. found a used copy in a secondhand bookstore on charing cross road. came home practically bouncing up and down. it was just as i remembered - incredible, beautifully written stories about hard women in hard circumstances. the first story is just gorgeous. pat barker is an amazing writer. and it's astounding to read these stories after living in england and really learning the difference between northerners and southerners - i wonder what i understood the stories to be about before! ...more

This was an interesting book. Each chapter dealing with a different girl or woman, all living on the same working-class, northern street in the 1970s. They lead lives of deprivation, hardship, poverty, abuse but are shown to be strong despite it all, keeping their families together and providing for them. Many passages of the novel make upsetting and uncomfortable reading. In a different vein to the author's other novels but very realistic and effective.

A well written gritty book telling the story of 7 women who all live in poverty in the same street in the 1970. Each has their own tale to tell starting with a young girl who is brutally raped, each character getting older each time and ending with the sad decline and death of Old Alice, whose impending death and fear of going into a home drives her to take matters into her own hands. A great read!

Another one from my Contemporary Women’s Writing module. This book is horrible but really really good. If that makes sense. It reads more like a collection of short stories than a novel, but it’s about a group of working class women in the 1970s, and they all have really grim lives and horrible things happen to them. Not a cheery book by any stretch of the world, but it’s really compelling.

I bought this book at the legendary Powell's Book Store in Portland in 2003. Just now read it and loved it. Stories of the very difficult lives of several different women living in poverty and trying to make ends meet and dreaming of raising their standard of living. Not a book to read when you want to feel light and happy! I would like to read more of Barker's books.

I can forgive that some of the characters were a tad stereotypical because of the perfect insight we are given to their innermost thoughts, feelings, motivations, fears and hopes. I know it was meant to be set in the 70's but it could have been the 30's (apart from the odd bit of technology) or anywhere in between. Just fabulous.

Pat Barker was born in Thornaby-on-Tees in 1943. She was educated at the London School of Economics and has been a teacher of history and politics.

Her books include the highly acclaimed Regeneration trilogy Regeneration; The Eye in the Door, winner of the Guardian Fiction Prize; and The Ghost Road, winner of the Booker Prize; as well as seven other novels. Pat Barker is married and lives inPat Barker was born in Thornaby-on-Tees in 1943. She was educated at the London School of Economics and has been a teacher of history and politics.

Her books include the highly acclaimed Regeneration trilogy Regeneration; The Eye in the Door, winner of the Guardian Fiction Prize; and The Ghost Road, winner of the Booker Prize; as well as seven other novels. Pat Barker is married and lives in Durham, England. ...more